She held an event at Lake Eola Park to kick off her campaign Thursday afternoon.

Demings was the first woman to become police chief in Orlando and says she's been asked to run for mayor by "countless citizens."

She says she's disappointed with the forgotten promises of the current administration, something Mayor Teresa Jacobs disagrees with.

"We have kept a record of everything I have committed to do and nobody is perfect, but I am extremely proud of the record that I have built," said Jacobs. "Not just in the last three years but in the last 12 years."

Jacobs has been mayor since 2010. She indicated that Demings is not qualified for the job.

"I would not run for sheriff because I know I'm not qualified to run for sheriff, and I think qualification is an issue that will be an issue in this race," Jacobs said.

The forgotten promises Demings is referring to is the investigation of the mayor and commissioners exchanging text messages with lobbyists and others before and during a public hearing in 2012.

WESH 2's investigation revealed many of those messages were deleted. The state attorney fined four officials, including Jacobs, for destruction of public records.

Demings said that scandal proves Jacobs forgot her promise to be open and accountable.

"I believe that when you say that every citizen will have an opportunity to participate in the government process, then they should be afforded that opportunity," said Demings.

Jacobs has since implemented a system to collect and provide official text messages upon request.

Though the race is nonpartisan, Demings is backed by the Florida Democratic Party, which put out a release saying she cut her budget by over $10 million.

But WESH 2's review of her three police budgets reveals that is not the case. The numbers show increased totaling more than $12 million.

Demings said she made cuts in some areas, but the budget rose when the city received federal grants.

Demings is married to Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, which means if she is elected mayor, she will have the power to vote on her husband's budget.

A spokesperson for Jacobs said she is traveling and unavailable for comment Thursday.

If there are more than three qualified candidates in the race, the election will be held Aug. 26.

If no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote plus one, the top two finishers in that primary will face off on Nov. 4.

This will be Demings' second run at public office, having been defeated by Republican Rep. Dan Webster in 2012.